Pimlach

A really, really, really dumb trade made by the Sabres was trading Alan Haworth, a kid we developed who had just scored 21 goals in only 57 games. He also had 16 goals in 49 games the prior year as a rookie. You could see the kid could score goals. Bowman drafted and then traded Howarth with a 3rd, to the Caps for a 2nd and a 4th round pick - neither pick panned out. Haworth strung together 6 straight 20+ goal seasons, including a 34 goal season. Scotty missed on that one.

The Sabres won the big trade with Detroit by a mile. Every player involved, except for McCourt, played their best hockey as a Sabre.

I sure don't doubt you on that and it was probably part of it, but Punch was initially pissed at McNab for complaining about fan boos (and expectations) during the regular season. Once you got in his dog house you probably stayed in it. McNab went on to score a lot of goals for Boston.

Not quite. McNab complained about the booing because the Sabres were in a slump and playing poorly and the fans did not like it. It was the year hangover from losing the cup and the team could not get going. Fans expectations were sky high. Punch was pissed at their play and the fact that McNab thought they were above being booed. All NHL teams were 99% Canadian. All the teams were playing for Canada.

It was a desperate move by Darcy. The Sabres pinched pennys, Peca held his ground and it got ugly. Did not Darcy agree to reach Peca’s original demands, only to have him hold ground and force a trade? Peca did win another Selke after the trade. He was still very effective and his leadership helped the Isles.

You can say that about almost every newspaper in almost every city.

Which is why I added the part about bringing in a better goalie than Toker and Comrie.

Adam’s was smart to bring in Andy. I still wish he brought in some better goalie help along with him though (I.e. better than Toker and Comrie). Erik Johnson will likely have a similar impact. A player past his prime, but he will bring much needed veteran experience and know-how to the blue line.

Pa-NO-KA sounds more hockey like-than Pa-NO-cha. Lots more upside with the KA sound. I remember Chicoutimi.

Sure he can replace 26 of Andy’s games, maybe 40 at that level or better. Asking for 52 is a lot and carries a high risk, especially since we have not seen a commitment to team defense yet. Sure, they added two defenders that will help, now the forwards have to do their part. I’m pulling for the overall team play improvement that could come from another year of maturity and leveraging of off last season’s experience.

If the bold is true I will be very upset. The core needs to win right now or else they could start accepting the loses. I think they might be a few veteran players short of a playoff team as of today, but if the core players all contribute big again, and some more kids evolve and step up they could make it. Too much depends on Levi to make me comfortable and have high confidence.

Doing what you say is important and so is building a winning team. Some GMs, actually most GMs I should say, do not get to lose four years in a row. This is his year #4 and this is the year that KA should elevate this team into the playoffs The talent is there (thanks to him and his staff) and there are tons of assets to work with to address this teams shortcomings They missed the playoffs by one win last season They scored 296 goals but gave up a whopping 300 goals They were an abysmal 17-20-4 on home ice. They were 28th overall on the PK. They were dead last in faceoff win percentage. It’s pretty obvious what has to improve. I am behind KA on most of his moves and even some of his non-moves. But this is the year he must get this team into the playoffs. Getting there should be his goal and his focus. If they don’t make it this season that really is his problem, even if he does exactly what he says. The questions are did he do enough and what is left?

All the comments above mine are correct, but Lance is correct too - everyone of these guys will be competing for a spot in training camp. Murray, Weissbach, and Biro are very much long shots.

@PASabreFan is looking for Kevyn.

To me “Higher compete” means play a complete game, which includes defense too.

I am happy he wants out, that means the message was received on his benching last season. In his post season interview he said the right things, he knows he has to work on his entire game. What he tells your friend is one thing, what he tells Adams is what matters.

Why, to cover for his defensive weaknesses and then not have a strong shut down defensive line?

Maybe Kevyn is reading this and will make another move before things get started. He sure like his prospects and assets.

So, it is the concept of Juneau that you liked? Compare and contrast that with the Bob Corkum blockbuster trade.

Bocces on Bailey Ave in Amherst was once great, now it’s hit and miss, and you have to order the pizza “well done” to get it cooked right. Went to Bob and John’s LaHacienda a few years ago and was totally disappointed. Afterwards I was told they had two styles of pizza. You have to specify Cup and char pepperoni or else you get the bigger flat pepperoni, which is bland and not a true Buffalo style pie. At one time Mr Pizza (Elmwood and Bird) was fantastic. The owner has recently passed and now the quality is not always there. Just Pizza is an offshoot (one of the Mr Pizza owners left to form it), but it is now a local franchise chain so some locations are better than others. Imperial in South Buffalo is very good. I prefer to stay in North Buffalo/ Elmwood Village when I stay in the city but Imperial is worth the drive. The real La Nova, on the West Side, is very good too. Leonardi’s did not survive Covid. Shame, their pizza was really good.

Gretzky did not win them alone though. Gretzky had a better supporting cast.

Adam’s has won far less than Beane at this time. Beane has turned Buffalo into a place players will go to. Adam’s is still working on that. It’s hard to compared GMs from different sports. His record defies your comments. The Bills are a very strong team that has yet to win it all. Like lots of other teams. Sabres are on track, maybe. Let’s see them make the playoffs and win something. Has Adams done enough?

And many before him

We traded for Star players like Robert, Korab, Luce, Foligno, LaFontaine, Hawerchuck, Hasek, Peca, Briere, Drury, and you pick 29 games of Joe Juneau - that is contrarian.

He needs 2 inches and 35 pounds to be Adam Mair sized. Mair was selected 84OA, Kozak was 193. Since I have not seen Kozak play yet I will defer to your judgement. Mair was definitely a notch above Ellis. If Kozak can win face-offs and be strong on the PK he has some hope.